Palisades Lakes Trail

Mount Rainier National Park

The Palisades Lakes Trail runs 3.55 miles from Sunrise Point to Upper Palisades Lake in the Sourdough Range of Mount Rainier National Park. It passes through subalpine parklands to Surprise Lake, Clover Lake, and the Tom-Dick-Harry Lakes en route to UPL. A .6 mile trail branches off the PLT to Hidden Lake, and continues on a cross-country route to Green Park Saddle.

Hidden Lake (5,915') is accessible by a short, steep spur off the main trail; a good path continues around and above this deceptively large and shapely lake to Green Park Saddle under Marcus Peak (6,962')

After a 490' drop from Sunrise Point to a low point on the valley floor, travel moderates on rolling grades to Clover Lake (5,732')

Upper Palisades Lake (5,827') lies in a steep-walled bowl topped by the eponymous formations, and surrounded on 3 sides by flower-covered slopes

Subalpine parklands cover about 23% of the Park; these meadows fall into two groups which are shaped and defined by snow depth and duration

High, north-facing slopes (like the ones right under Sunrise Point leading to Surprise Lake) can hold snow well into July and be impassable without technical gear